Chapter 25

He ate a few fries, chewed, and swallowed. "You didn't answer the question."
"What question?"
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" He casually took another bite of his burger, as if it was the most natural question he could ever ask. And with Caden, she guessed that it was. Everything was natural with him. They had always been able to talk about anything.
"Sure. Why not?"
He smiled. "I think you can be attracted to someone, but true love happens over time."
She nodded. "Yes, I think you're right." After seeing Caden again, she was more in love with him now than she had ever been, but she knew she could never act on it. It wouldn't be fair to him or Mallory. "Well, let's finish our burgers before they get cold."
After that, the conversation turned to lighter topics. But Caden shied away when she asked him what he did while he was away and what countries he had visited. He only told her the lighter things, never anything serious.
"In Saudi Arabia, you had to be careful of the camel jockeys."
She almost choked on the bite she had in her mouth. She quickly chewed and swallowed. "Camel jockeys?"
He nodded, smiling. "They would get you on the back of their camel and head out toward the desert, telling you that they'd leave you in the desert if you didn't pay them forty dollars."
Jocelyn laughed. "So, what did you do?"
"I told him that if he didn't stop right now, he'd regret it." Caden didn't say it, but she assumed that he had threatened to beat the tar out of him if he didn't stop. But he was too much of a gentleman to say it in front of a lady.
She laughed. "I'd bet he stopped."
Caden nodded, smiling. "He did."
When they were finished, Angela laid the bill next to Caden and he threw a few bills down onto it.
"Here. Let me pay--"
"Not around me you don't," he said, cutting her off.
Even though it wasn't a real date, it sure felt like it to Jocelyn. In fact, she had more fun with Caden just hanging out than she ever had on a real date. Every time she had gone out with a guy before, she continually thought of Caden, or compared her date to him. It wasn't fair to the guy, so she stopped dating for a while.
He looked up at her and smiled. "Ready?"
She nodded, smiling. "Thanks for dinner."
"It was my pleasure." He placed a hand on the small of her back, sending chills over her body. No other man had ever had that effect on her.
Outside, the cold rushed toward her, causing her to shiver. "Let's get you inside," Caden said, guiding her to his car. He opened the passenger side door for her and she slid in. "I'll turn the heat on and it'll warm up in a minute."
Before she could say anything, he closed her door and slid into the driver's seat. He quickly turned on the engine and turned the heat on full blast. Cold air rushed out at first.
"It'll turn warm once the car heats up," he instructed, pulling the car away from the curb. When he passed by the tree lot, it was already closed, his parents were already gone, and the light was on in the small cabin for Dan. "Mom and Dad must have closed up."
Jocelyn looked at her watch. "It's eleven o'clock. No wonder."
"Really?" Caden's eyebrows rose almost into his hairline. "I didn't realize it was getting so late."
"Me neither." It appeared that she always lost track of time when she was with Caden. He turned down some streets and a few minutes later, he stopped the car in front of her house.
"Well, here we are." Caden turned off the engine and got out of the car before she could say anything. A second later, he opened her door and held out his hand to help her out.
She laughed, taking his hand. "I can walk myself to my door, thank you."
"Aaahhh- but I do it so much better," he teased.
As he walked her to the door, it suddenly seemed more like a date- too much like a date, in fact. Her heart pounded as he walked her up the stairs. "Thank you, Caden. I had a wonderful time."
"So did I." He took her hands and then looked into her eyes. "Jocelyn, why aren't you with someone?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're wonderful, you're kind- I'm surprised someone hasn't snatched you up by now."
"As I said, I hadn't met the right man."
He took a step closer. "No?" But before she could answer, he bent down and pressed his lips to hers.
She tried to resist at first, but then passion overtook her and she returned the kiss, lost in the moment. When she came to her senses, she took a step back. "Mallory! What am I doing? You came back for Mallory--"
"Jocelyn, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that--"
"I have to go in." Jocelyn fumbled for her keys and unlocked the door.
"Jocelyn, I can explain--"
"Good night, Caden."
Then she shut the door and locked it before she could say anything more. She rushed upstairs to her bedroom and closed the door, trying to get as far away from him as she could, but it didn't help. After spending the day with him, she could still smell his scent, taste his kiss, feel his warmth. She looked out the window and Caden was standing in the yard, looking helplessly at the door. He ran his fingers through his light brown hair and then headed toward the car and opened the door. Then he looked up and their eyes met. Tears slid slowly down her cheeks as she darted to the side of the window, out of sight. A moment later, the engine roared to life and grew faint in the distance as he pulled away, leaving her alone in the darkness of the night.
"What have I done?" she asked herself as she cried into her hands.
She sat on her bed and wondered what she was going to do. Even though she was in love with Caden and had been since she was twelve years old, she knew she couldn't act on it. She couldn't hurt her sister like that. Jocelyn cried for a bit, wondering how she could survive Caden, and then it hit her. The only way to stay loyal to her sister and to protect her own heart was to stay away from him. Not to see him anymore. She just hoped that she could.